Sensitive electronic equipment (e.g., computers, servers, networking equipment, etc.) are susceptible to a variety of environmental factors, including heat, static electricity and water. Accordingly, such equipment is typically stored in computer control rooms having a highly controlled environment. Computer control rooms generally include air conditioning, humidity control and raised flooring, to offset the effects of heat, static electricity, and potential flooding. Because of the highly controlled environment and other design considerations (e.g., cabling), computer control room space is generally much more expensive than normal office space.
In order to reduce storage requirements and the costs associated therewith, computer equipment (e.g., computers, servers, networking equipment, etc.) stored in computer control rooms are typically mounted in one or more racks. Racks generally house and store various equipment including computer servers, audio, telecommunication, security and other types of equipment in a vertical configuration or arrangement. In order to minimize the amount of horizontal space that is occupied or covered by computer equipment (e.g., the equipment's footprint), it is desirable for racks to house as much equipment as possible. The more equipment that is housed vertically in a rack, the less horizontal building space (i.e., square footage) is needed to house the equipment in a computer control room and less cost is incurred as a result.
While racks may greatly reduce the required size of a computer control room, it is inconvenient to have separate video displays, input devices, and pointing devices for each computer stored in a rack or in a computer control room. Accordingly, keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switches are gaining increasing popularity in such environments.
A KVM system may be implemented by utilization of a KVM drawer. A KVM drawer is a keyboard, video monitor and mouse device that is generally supported by a rack and can be housed within a rack when not in use. In most cases, the KVM drawer may be housed within a single unit of rack space. In use, the KVM draw may be extended from the rack in a horizontal direction similar to opening a cabinet drawer. Upon opening of the KVM drawer, a video monitor may be positioned to provide access to an associated user. The user generally is provided with access to user input devices, such as a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., mouse).
Access to a KVM drawer (or KVM system) typically requires a user to enter a unique user identification (user ID) or user name and a password that is usually input from a keyboard associated with the terminal in which the user attempts to gain access to the KVM drawer. There are many shortcomings associated with this method of user authentication. For example, a user may voluntarily provide their user ID and password to others without detection from the system administrator. A user may also provide their user ID and password to others involuntarily by a third party eavesdropping on the user as he or she enters their user ID and password through a keyboard or a camera could be covertly installed to view a user as he or she types the their user ID and password into the keyboard. These security breaches can lead to unauthorized use of the KVM drawer, thereby allowing unauthorized users access to potentially confidential and sensitive information.
Due to the confidential and sensitive information typically associated with a KVM drawer and the potential for unauthorized users to gain access to such information, there is a need in the art for providing more sophisticated access security to a KVM drawer.